How do i choose the right immigration lawyer?

So you have decided to stay in the USA. That’s great! But have you thought what if something goes wrong before you can extend your Visa or apply for permanent residence? To help through any legal hassle related to immigration law, you’d need an experienced immigration adviser or lawyer.

The requirements put out by USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) are also very complex and may not be understandable to outsiders.

There are many ways you can become a U.S. Citizen. To become a U.S. citizen, you must: Have had a Permanent Resident (Green) Card for at least five years, or at least three years if you’re filing as the spouse of a U.S. citizen.

Other times, different sociopolitical reasons make it a foreigner hard to seek residence in the US. Every day, hundreds of people who arrived with a work visa, student visa, or seeking asylum will knock on the door of USCIS to get a permanent residence and later US citizenship. This is where you’d need to seek the assistance of the right immigration lawyer.

5 Tips to Get a Right Immigration Lawyer

Having a good immigration attorney fighting for you can make all the difference to your case. It’s easy to find the right immigration lawyer if you’re looking for them the right way. Here are five tips to keep in mind while looking for an immigration lawyer.

1. Get Referral

The first thing you need to do is to find the right immigration lawyer. The best option to seek the right lawyer is to get a referral from your family member, friend, neighbor, or look into online testimonials. People who have already worked with an immigration lawyer can tell if what to look for in a lawyer and what kind of lawyer to avoid.

Once you land a lawyer, the next thing you’d need to do is assess their experience and history. Ask them for the previous client’s feedback. Most of the time, you can easily find them on Google, Yelp, and Avvo. American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the Better Business Bureau are other places to look for the right lawyer.

2. Don’t Look for a Bargain

The price of hiring a lawyer should be your least concern. Getting the right lawyer who can win you the case should be your primary objective. Like many things in life, you get what you pay for. There are a lot of terrible and mediocre immigration lawyers offering reduced pricing versus the competition. Many of these lawyers may be juggling too many cases at once.

It’s completely Ok to spend more on a quality lawyer because you wouldn’t want to waste months of a delayed or rejected process. After all, you want to save money.

3. Negotiate Fees

Do not bargain doesn’t mean not negotiating the fee and how you can pay them. The immigration lawyers typically charge by the hour. Some law firms may have a fixed fee structure for the standard preparing and filing of your case. Depending on your need, you can opt. for either an hourly fee or a standard fee.

The best way is to negotiate a fixed fee and ask how much time it would take to win your case to know how many their services will cost you in terms of time and money.

What does an immigration lawyer charge?

An immigration lawyer charges between $150 and $300 per hour, with a typical 30-min consultation fee of $75 to $150. Legal assistance when filing basic immigration forms costs $250 to $800, while green card assistance runs from $800 to $5,000, plus the USCIS fees of $460 to $700.

For a US citizenship or naturalization application, expect to pay around $500 to $1,200, whereas filing an asylum application will range from $1,000 to $3,000.

Find out more about the immigration lawyer fee.

4. Hire a Lawyer who speaks your Language

Many things you say are lost in translation when the other person couldn’t understand you. It’s true with immigration lawyers as well. It becomes crucial to know that both you and your attorney are on the same page.

Picking a lawyer who speaks your language fluently can greatly streamline the process. One big advantage of this is that they can easily make you understand legal nuances. The lawyer would also be able to make sure that your documents’ certified translations from your native tongue to English are accurate.

5. Build a relationship with your lawyer

Your immigration lawyer is going to be the only person who will stick with you throughout this process. This may take a few months up to a few years. Knowing that your lawyer is someone you know very well will help you get by easily.

Questions to ask your Immigration Lawyer

Once you have found the right lawyer, the next step is to consult. When consulting, you must be prepared to ask the right questions. Knowing that you’ll be paying them for each service, you’d want to keep it brief.

What is their experience with immigration cases like yours?

An immigration lawyer must have covered a wide range of immigration cases over time. Each of these cases can require a different set of preparation, a unique process, and representation. Knowing about their previous experience can help you determine if this particular lawyer can win you the case.

How much of their practice is dedicated to immigration cases?

An immigration lawyer may have a wide set of expertise and practices. Knowing that they’ll dedicatedly look into your case can make things easier.

Will they be overseeing your case through to its resolution?

A lawyer may pass the case to another lawyer if they’re unlikely to represent you in certain scenarios. Ask them specifically if they’ll work with you throughout the case, including filing paperwork and representing you in the court.

Do they have references?

Ask for previous clients’ references and feedback.

Did you know?

According to a report published by AmericanProgress.com in 2015,

• 41 million foreign-born individuals are living in the US. Together, they make up 12.9% of the overall population.

• The majority of the foreign-born are from Latin America and Asia, with a small number arriving from Europe and Africa. Latinos and Asian Americans are a growing segment of the American electorate.

• Across the country, there are over 904,000 LGBT adult immigrants.

• Studies have found that immigrants are more likely than native-born Americans to start and own businesses.

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